


Pole Dance 101

by trixwitch



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, Crushes, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, POV Emma Swan, Pole Dancing, Romance, Slow Burn, There will be sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:29:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22040092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trixwitch/pseuds/trixwitch
Summary: Emma gets talked into taking a pole dance class, and once there she develops a huge crush on Regina, the instructor. But there is so much more to this woman than she expects, as she soon finds out.Note: Regina is pretty out of character in this one, and it's because I wanted to write a Regina who actually escaped her mother, and didn't go down the revenge path. Basically Young Regina if she hadn't met Rumple, but in AU. I dunno, just read it.
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan
Comments: 83
Kudos: 346





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based on Lana's pole dancing photo:https://www.instagram.com/p/B5iqQOclasx/?igshid=10yeo8v0mcku0  
> Apologies to the real Enchant Vertical Dance in Seattle, whose name I stole for this. It's just so perfect! Check them out if you feel like learning pole.

Emma Swan backed her yellow bug slowly into a parking space four blocks away from where she was going. She just couldn’t bring herself to park right in front - she was about 50/50 on actually going in anyway. And maybe if she sat here for another 5 minutes she’d have the courage to get out of the car. She groaned and flopped her forehead onto her hands that were still gripping the steering wheel. This was seriously the worst idea she’d ever had. But she was also stubborn enough that once she’d said she was going to do something, she felt like she had to do it. She took a deep breath, and pulled the rear view mirror down to look herself in the eye. 

“You can do this,” she said under her breath. “It’s one hour of your life.”

Emma grabbed the bag off the seat next to her, got out of the car, and started walking before she could change her mind again. She felt her breath quicken as the studio sign came into view: Enchant Vertical Dance. 

“Fuck,” she whispered.

Her best friend Ruby had talked her into this, and at the time it had seemed like a good idea. But now that she was actually standing outside of a pole dance studio, with an unbelievably skimpy pair of shorts in her bag, she was starting to think it might have been the alcohol at the bar she and Ruby went to last week that made this seem fun. But Ruby was right that Emma was in a rut - her dating life was at a standstill, her job was fine but not exciting, and there was nothing that launched her out of bed in the morning. Ruby had pushed her to try something outside her comfort zone, just to see how it felt. And this was about as far as you could get. While Emma considered herself somewhere between butch and femme, she lived in jeans, hardly ever put on makeup, and had worn heels like three times in the last year. When she pictured a pole dancer, it sure as hell wasn’t her. But here she was. She’d already paid for the one-hour intro class, and if nothing else it would make a good story.

So she took one more deep breath and pushed open the door to the studio. The inside was not at all was she was expecting. There was soft, dim lighting from lamps and strings of twinkle lights that lined the reception desk and the row of cubbies in the lobby. A group of women were just getting out of a class in the studio off to her left, talking and laughing and drinking water just like normal people leaving an exercise class. _OK_ , Emma thought, _what the hell were you expecting them to look like?_

She checked in at the front desk, dutifully left her shoes in a cubby, and went into the bathroom to change. There were no mirrors, which at first felt strange, but once she’d put on those tiny shorts Ruby had lent her that were barely longer than the tank top she had on, she was pretty glad she couldn’t see herself. Not that she was particularly squeamish about showing her body, but this was a totally unknown situation and it made her feel vulnerable. Not seeing it helped her pretend like she was fine with it.

Emma was a few minutes early for the class, so she found a corner of the studio - which also had no mirrors - to sit down and do some stretches. There were a handful of other women doing the same thing, so she figured those were going to be her classmates. There were a couple of people on the poles in the center of the room, though, and Emma watched as they helped each other twist themselves in unbelievable ways, threading legs around the pole and holding themselves up with what looked like sheer will power. She started to realize that the sexy part of pole dancing might not be the hardest part. Those were some serious muscles happening over there.

And then the ambient music turned off, and the people working in the center of the room moved to the side. A new song came on, and then Emma saw a woman walking slowly towards the center pole. She was beautiful - dark hair swept off of striking eyes with a cloth headband that matched a kind of bikini outfit that left plenty of skin exposed. But more than what she looked like, she seemed to float across the floor, and Emma couldn’t take her eyes off of the way the woman’s hands reached up towards the pole. She spun around, and slid gracefully down to the ground, where she rolled over one shoulder, and into the most perfect split. Some of the onlookers applauded, and Emma jumped, having forgotten that everyone else was here. She watched as the woman danced her way back up to standing, and Emma was not the only one who gasped when the woman practically levitated off the ground to hold herself upside down, before twisting around and grabbing the pole above her and somehow ending up higher than she’d started? Emma had no idea how she was doing any of this, and she sat there gaping as the woman finished her routine. Emma applauded with the rest of the room when the song was done, and the woman broke into a wide smile, breaking the spell she’d cast as a performer.

“Alright, thank you for indulging me,” the woman said to the room. “Pole 101 students, let’s get started! Circle up in the center of the room.”

She turned to the sound system, putting on the soft music that had been playing earlier, and taking a sip from a water bottle. Emma’s eyes followed her the whole time until she realized she was staring and focused back on the only safe thing in the room - her own feet.

“Hello, beautiful people,” said the woman, joining the circle two people away from Emma. “I’m Regina, one of your instructors. I don’t usually start class with a performance, but I have a competition coming up this weekend and wanted to get some practice with an audience. So! Who’s here for the first time?”

Emma shyly raised her hand, grateful that three other women did the same. Regina nodded at each of them in person, and Emma felt her stomach start to flipflop when she caught her eye. _Oh no,_ she thought. _I am sooooo not allowed to look at her again._ But of course, she had to, because Regina instructed by demonstrating. Emma tried very hard to listen to the words she was saying and focus on technique and definitely not the way Regina’s arms looked when they flexed to grab the pole. She was saved from herself, though, by how insanely hard pole dance turned out to be. Emma was strong - and worked out a lot because it helped her mind go quiet. But this was a whole different thing. For one thing, apparently grip strength was a thing? A thing she most definitely did not have, because she found her forearms aching and her fingers losing strength after only 20 minutes.

Regina had split them into groups to take turns working on some basic moves. “Basic” in the sense that you had to learn them first, not in the sense that they were easy. Emma got the climb and hold OK, but the walk and spin thing just absolutely tripped her up - literally. After her fourth crash down to the ground, Regina came over to her, already smiling kindly.

“Yeah, that spin isn’t as easy as it looks, is it?” she said, extending a hand to help Emma up. 

Emma took it, trying desperately to ignore the heat that passed between their palms.

“Try this,” said Regina, and talked her way through the spin, moving as slowly as possible and explaining every detail of what she was doing. Emma paid attention this time. If she was going to walk out of this class with a huge crush on her teacher, she wanted to at least make a good impression as a student. She narrowed her eyes at the pole, placed her feet exactly where Regina said, and tried it again. It wasn’t graceful, but she stayed upright, and the look of excitement on Regina’s face when she got it was totally worth it.

Emma focused on the actual class after that, her new-found determination overruling her nerves and her awkwardness, until she found she actually enjoyed herself. At the end of the class, they did a cool-down that was the slowest, sexiest stretching combo Emma had ever seen. She allowed herself to watch Regina then, and really it was the way she moved that was so incredible. Obviously she was gorgeous, and at home in her body, but it was like watching a mermaid or something when she stretched.

At the end of the class, Emma went to grab her water and her bag, hesitating for just a moment, trying to decide if talking to Regina was a bad idea or not. But there was an opening in the flow of students, so she took a chance and went over to say thank you.

“Hey, uh, thank you. That was a lot more fun than I expected,” she said, thankfully coherent, despite the butterflies that had returned to her stomach.

Regina smiled at her. “I get that a lot. Did someone gift you the class?”

“Oh, uh, no. But I did kind of get talked into it.”

“A lot of people do. But you had fun?”

Emma nodded, maybe a little enthusiastically. “I did! Also it’s way harder than it looks! No wonder you’re so insanely ripped.” She stopped. _Definitely should not have said that, Swan,_ she thought.

But Regina just laughed. “People have no idea how hard we work to be able to do these things. But hey! You did pretty well for a first timer. Think you’ll come back?”

“Definitely!” Emma said, although she would have agreed to just about anything in that moment. But she did have fun…

“Well I’ll see you next time, then,” said Regina, grabbing her own bag. “Emma, right?”

Emma nodded. 

“Well have a good night, Emma.”

“Thanks! Uh, you too.”

Emma left in a daze. None of that had gone the way she had expected, and she was really really pissed that Ruby was going to be able say “I told you so.”


	2. Chapter 2

“So, how was pole dancing?”

Emma rolled her eyes. She and Ruby had decided to stay in for their Friday night friend date this week, and she had barely gotten her coat off before Ruby asked that, her eyes gleaming.

“It was actually a lot of fun,” Emma said, kicking off her boots and following Ruby into the kitchen. “Wow, that smells amazing,” she added, as she caught a whiff of something that definitely included garlic. 

“Thank you, but don’t change the subject. And here, you can chop parsley while you tell me every single detail.”

Emma dutifully took the bunch of parsley Ruby handed to her, and found a clean cutting board and knife. She knew this kitchen frankly better than she knew her own. Ruby was the cook - Emma just chopped things and did some dishes. Friday night friend dates were sacred with them - had been since they met almost eight years ago. Even when one or both of them was dating someone, Friday nights were off limits. It was the closest thing to a stable family Emma had ever had and she treasured this more than she cared to admit.

She started chopping and tried to describe the pole studio. “It was nothing like what I expected. It was like a fitness studio, but with sexy lighting.”

“Ooh, sexy lighting,” Ruby echoed. She paused to taste whatever magic was currently simmering on the stove. “OK. What else?”

“Well, there were no mirrors,” Emma said.

“What? That’s weird.”

“Yeah, Regina, the instructor, said it was so we could focus on being sexy from the inside, or something. She said it a lot better than that, but I can’t remember exactly how she put it.”

“Regina, huh?” Ruby asked. “What was she like?”

Emma knew she was blushing from the way Ruby’s face lit up. Stupid body betraying her like that.

“Somebody’s got a crush,” Ruby sang. “Ha! Hot for teacher in a pole dance class takes on whole new levels of freaky - “

“Ruby!”

“What? Tell me more about her!”

Emma focused in on the parsley. It’s not like she was actually embarrassed about having a crush, it was just talking about it that made her want to crawl into a hole. But it was Ruby. And Emma knew that she could trust her. Emma also knew that Ruby wouldn’t stop until she got every last detail out of her, so she might as well just get it out of the way now.

“So she taught us some basic grips and foot placement and stuff,” Emma started.

“Ugh, Em, I don’t care what you learned. Tell me about the hot teacher! She’s hot, right?”

Emma scrunched up her face in embarrassment, but nodded, ignoring Ruby’s squeal of excitement as she did. But then she actual thought about this woman who had indeed been on her mind since that class a few days ago, and she felt like she needed to explain that she was more than just good looking.

“So she started the class by doing this performance - I guess she’s in some kind of competition this weekend and wanted to practice in front of an audience. Anyway, it was amazing. It was like … like watching the best athlete in the world do their sport, who’s also this incredible dancer. I’m not explaining it well, but you just couldn’t look away from her, and it was the movement that was beautiful, as well as the person.”

Emma glanced up from the parsley that was now probably more finely diced than she’d meant it to be. Ruby was grinning.

“She’s in a competition this weekend?” Ruby said, and raised her eyebrows a few times. 

Emma knew where this was headed and tried to say something, but Ruby already had her phone in her hand, and read out as she was typing, “pole dance competition, Boston.”

“Got it,” she said, scrolling through. Then her jaw dropped and she stared up at Emma, then back down at the phone. “Regina Mills?” she asked.

“Uh, I think so,” said Emma.

“Dude. THIS is who you’re talking about?” 

Ruby handed her phone to Emma, who looked down and saw Regina in the bralette and shorts she’d worn at the beginning of the class, suspended from the pole and looking upwards with an expression of such longing it made Emma’s heart skip a beat to look at it. Ruby snatched the phone back from her.

“It’s only fifteen dollars? Oh we’re going,” she said.

“What?” Emma said, trying to grab the phone. “No! I’m not stalking this woman I literally just met.”

“You’re not stalking! You’re an interested student checking things out. And checking Regina out in that outfit.”

“Ruby!”

***

“How do I let you talk me into these things?” Emma muttered as she and Ruby settled into their seats. They were at the pole competition, which turned out to be happening at a performing arts center not too far from where Emma lived. 

“Someone has to get you out of the house,” Ruby replied, not missing a beat. “So, when’s Regina performing?”

Emma groaned. “Can you be a little less obvious?” she asked.

“Nope!” Ruby replied cheerfully. She turned around in her seat, checking out the rest of the audience. The room was nearly full, mostly women, and buzzing with excitement. Emma figured it was mostly friends and family. Well, maybe just friends. She didn’t expect anybody’s mom to come watch them pole dance.

The lights went down, and the show started. Emma was starting to realize that she should stop being surprised when things did not go at all like she expected when it came to this world of pole dancing. She’d thought it would be kind of like a strip club but with better dancing? But it was nothing like that. There were categories to the competition, and levels, and total beginners as well people doing things Emma had no idea were physically possible. And there were acts that were sexy, and some that were funny, and some that were just plain impressive. The most surprising thing, though, was how engaged the audience was. They were cheering and clapping and responding to the performances so loudly and joyfully, that eventually Ruby and Emma got caught up in it, and started to do the same. And it was so fun. By the time Regina took the stage, Emma and Ruby whooped and cheered like they actual knew her.

But the crowd settled down as the music began, and Regina entered with that slow walk that had captivated Emma in the studio. Except it was even better today. There was a kind of electricity running through every deliberate movement, and Emma all but held her breath as she watched. The performance was flawless, and the crowd erupted when the music ended. Ruby turned to Emma with wide eyes.

“Now you get it,” Emma said over the noise of the applause. Ruby just nodded.

When the show was done, though, Emma’s initial shyness came rushing back. Ruby insisted they stick around to see if Regina would come greet people. Emma agreed, but secretly hoped they wouldn’t see her. What would she say?

But of course, Regina showed up after just a couple of minutes. She headed straight for a group of friends, who cheered and hugged her and generally made a lot of noise. Emma smiled as she watched. Then Ruby hit her on the arm and she looked at her, only to have Ruby point back to Regina, who’d spotted them and was heading her way. _Oh God, what was she going to say?_

“Emma! Hey!” she said as she approached. “Can I hug you?”

In the theme of the last week, Emma was caught completely off guard. “Uh, yeah,” she stammered, and found herself pulled in for a brief but warm embrace. Well. That was that. She was gone. Head over heels, stupidly, frustratingly gone in total infatuation with this woman.

“Thank you so much for coming!” Regina was saying. “Such a treat to have a student in the audience. Did you have fun?”

“Yes!” Emma managed. The single word seemed to help her recover. “You were incredible! Again! So beautiful, and fluid, and like, perfect.”

Regina chuckled. “Too bad the judges didn’t think so. But I felt pretty good about it.”

“Wait, what? You didn’t do well?”

“I didn’t do badly, but I’d hoped to be in the top three of my level. I was fifth.”

“Still very impressive.”

Emma saw Regina’s eyes flick to Ruby, and she was suddenly seized with the need to clarify who she was (and that they were not together).

“Oh! This is my friend Ruby. She’s the one who talked me into taking your class.”

Ruby stuck out her hand, which Regina shook with a smile. “Well good job, Ruby,” Regina said. “I always appreciate the people who talk their friends into things.”

Ruby laughed. “If Emma had her way she’d be at home by herself. Somebody’s got to make sure she gets out there and does things. Meeting people … dating.” Ruby gave her a wink. “Can’t meet the right girl sitting on your couch.”

Halfway through that speech Emma was ready to sink into the ground, but when she realized that Ruby had just declared her single and gay, well, it took all of her willpower to just laugh it off. 

“Ha!” Regina replied. “Well you definitely are a good friend. Thank you both for coming!” She glanced back towards her friends. “I should go. I’ll see you in class on Wednesday, Emma?”

“For sure,” Emma said, giving a weak little wave as Regina turned away. 

She grabbed Ruby’s arm and turned them towards the door. “What the hell was that?” she hissed.

“What? I dropped some hints. Up to her if she picks up on them.”

Emma rolled her eyes. But deep down she was grateful. Now she just had to wait until Wednesday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! And seriously, go find a Pole Sport Organization competition in your area to see what I mean. ;)


	3. Chapter 3

It was Wednesday, and Emma had signed up for pole dance 101 at 7pm again. It was currently 3pm, and she was shuffling through paperwork at her desk in her apartment, willing the time to go faster. After the competition on Saturday she had given in and internet stalked Regina Mills. Emma was very good at internet stalking - it was basically her job. And very nearly the only things she could find about Regina were pole dance related. She had found a high school graduation photo from a little town in Maine, an obituary for a Henry Mills that Emma was 90% sure had been Regina’s father, and an instagram account with five photos of flowers that hadn’t been active for two years.

Emma was fascinated, especially because she herself kept her life almost entirely off the internet. Knowing how easy it was for people to use that to track her, she just felt better having control over things. And Regina Mills was potentially the same way. Her pole dance info, on the other hand, was everywhere - videos, photos, write-ups in blogs and on the studio website. But there were no personal details. Emma had briefly wondered if “Regina” was in fact a stage name, but the mention of it in the obituary and high school graduation debunked that theory.

In any case, Emma had abandoned any pretense that she hadn’t developed a huge crush almost immediately, and knew she was excited for class because she was excited to see this woman again. But she was also excited for class. She had been sore for days after the last one, and found bruises in odd places, and that was strangely satisfying for someone who liked to push herself physically. She’d practiced a few of the footwork sequences, alone in her apartment with the curtains closed, just to see if she could do them. And she could! It might have been motivated by a desire to impress Regina, but it was also a matter of personal pride. She knew she wasn’t the most graceful person, but she sure as hell knew how to move her body, and she was not going to show up looking like a deer in the headlights again.

It was finally time to go, and Emma eagerly grabbed her stuff, parking in the closest spot she could to the studio this time. She felt herself stand up a little straighter and start to grin when she saw Regina sitting at the front desk in the studio. And her stomach filled with butterflies when Regina’s smile widened back at her.

“Emma Swan! You came back!” Regina handed her a pen to sign in, smiling the whole time.

“Of course I did - I told you I would.”

“Well I’m glad to have you here.”

“Thanks! Glad to be here!” Emma shrunk into herself a little as she tried to tone it down. “I was really sore last time, so I’m hoping I do a little better today.”

Regina chuckled. “Don’t count on it. The pole is unforgiving that way. I still get sore and bruised.”

“Well that’s comforting,” Emma joked.

She kicked her shoes off and went to change, immensely proud of herself for carrying on a perfectly normal conversation with this woman while inside she was basically hyperventilating with excitement and desire. Which was definitely about to get worse. She took a breath and redid her ponytail. She had worked this all out in her mind in the car ride over. She was going to focus on the class, and put her butterflies aside for the hour. Then she would go over and talk to Regina after class and see what happened. She realized there was a very slim chance of this woman being at all interested in her, but frankly it had been so long since she’d had an opportunity to flirt with someone she actually was interested in that she was going to try. Really try, not the half-assed way she sometimes that inevitably went entirely unnoticed. But first: class.

Regina was right - the second class wasn’t any easier than the first. Her body didn’t have any muscle memory for this type of movement, so even though they did all the same things as the week before, she was only slightly less terrible at them this time. But everyone else was in the same boat, so she didn’t feel quite so bad. And the one thing that was majorly better was her own confidence. Every time she did something right, it was like a little hit of adrenaline. And the times that Regina watched her do something right and complimented her, that was pretty much the best Emma had felt in months. 

After another impossibly sexy cool-down stretch that, if she was honest, left Emma feeling more turned on than cooled down, Emma took her time getting her stuff together, hoping to be the last student in the room. It worked. The others shuffled out, thanking Regina and chatting amongst themselves. Emma sauntered over to the stereo system where Regina was gathering her own things. Regina looked over her shoulder at her, and that smile came out again that made Emma want to lean in and kiss her right there.

“So?” asked Regina. “How was day two?”

“Uh, you were right about it not being any easier,” said Emma. “But still just as fun.”

“That’s the goal,” Regina said.   
“So, how did you get started pole dancing?” Emma asked, as if she hadn’t read every interview with Regina online where she answered the same question. But the answers Regina had given were always a little vague, so Emma figured she’d give it a try. Also she was terrible at coming up with small talk and she knew it, so she’d prepared some questions in her head as she was waiting to come over and talk to Regina. Maybe that was ridiculous, but whatever, she was trying.

“Oh, I’d done some dancing and some acrobatics when I was younger,” Regina was saying, “and a lot like you I found a class quite by accident and decided to give it a try.” This was nearly word for word what was in one of those interviews, Emma noted. She followed Regina out of the room as she continued, “I guess I fell in love with it, because that was 8 years ago, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

They’d walked back to the front desk, where Regina was starting to tidy things up. Emma wanted to keep talking, but wasn’t sure if she was interrupting. She figured she’d try one more question, though.

“What was the inspiration for that piece you did at the competition?”

Regina looked down and fidgeted for a moment, and Emma had the sense that she’d just seen her drop her guard. When she looked up, though, she was smiling again. Emma took all of this in, and started to wonder if the casual warmness Regina exuded was an act, or at least cultivated for the context of being a dance teacher. 

“Most of my acts have a story behind them,” Regina said finally. “But this one was a little more abstract.” 

She looked Emma in the eyes then, and her demeanor shifted. Emma couldn’t say exactly how, but she thought maybe Teacher Regina was being replaced with Person Regina. After a beat, Regina looked down again, and added, “the act explored the concept of longing. I chose that music a long time ago and it took until now to polish it up for competition.”

Emma nodded. “I saw that in it. Longing, I mean. The way you looked up at the pole and the way your movement kind of stretched out towards it.”

Regina smiled again, and it was a quieter smile than the one before. “Thank you,” she said. “That’s actually really good to know that that translated.”

“It really did.” Emma said.

She didn’t know what else to say, so she thanked Regina for class again, and found her shoes. She was just about out the door when Regina called after her, “see you next week, Emma?”

The butterflies started flapping around at the sound of Regina saying her name, but Emma held it together as she turned back and grinned. “Absolutely.”

***

Just like the week before, Emma could think of nothing else from the moment she left the pole studio. She replayed that conversation after class in her mind a thousand times, especially that moment when Regina reacted to her question about her act. Emma knew all about putting on a persona for work. She was a very different person in her professional life than she was with Ruby, who, despite being Emma’s closest friend in the world, rarely saw that side of her. It’s not that Emma didn’t enjoy that side - the gritty, take-no-shit over-confident side that was the way she got her job done. It’s just that it took so much more energy to be that way that when she was around someone she trusted, it was a relief to let her guard down and just be her; goofy, a little shy, but upbeat Emma. And as Emma obsessed about Regina (because yeah, she was totally obsessing), she started to wonder if the longing from that act was from Regina’s non-performing life, and what that life was like. 

It was Friday afternoon, and even though she really wanted to just be done for the day, Emma knew she needed to get her reports filed before the 1st, which was Sunday, and unless she wanted to work over the weekend, that meant she needed to get her ass in gear and work. So she packed up her computer and notes and headed to a coffee shop not too far away that she liked to work in. Sometimes it was easier to concentrate with some hustle and bustle going on around her.

She lucked out and got the prime table in the far corner - view of the whole shop but farther away from the door. She ordered a cinnamon latte and tried to settle her mind into work. She was mildly successful, and got about half her reports done, though so much slower than she should have. She was staring into space over the top of her computer when the door to the coffee shop opened and none other than Regina Mills walked in. She was dressed in workout pants and an oversized sweater, and her hair was swept back in a loose braid. Emma held her breath for a moment. Even outside of the sensual atmosphere of pole dancing she was incredibly attracted to this woman. Regina glanced around the shop, probably looking for an open table, and Emma didn’t think twice before waving at her. Regina looked startled for a second, and then she smiled and walked right over to Emma.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Regina said by way of greeting. “Do you live nearby?”

“I do!” said Emma. “Just the other side of Davis Square.”

“Really?” said Regina. “I’m just around the corner from here. Funny I’ve never seen you here before.”

“Well maybe you have, but we didn’t know each other then.”

Regina smiled. “That’s true. Although I still think I would have recognized you.”

Emma gulped.

“Are you working?” Regina asked. “I don’t mean to disturb you.”

Emma all but slammed her computer shut. “No, I’m pretty much done for the day. Do you want to join me?” she asked.

Regina hesitated, and Emma was just about to backtrack, but Regina then said “You know what, sure. That sounds lovely.”

Regina went up to order her coffee, and Emma cleared the table of her papers. Her brain was starting to panic a little as she realized she had no idea what she was going to say when Regina came back. But really, she could just keep her talking about pole dancing and that would be fine. But Regina apparently had other ideas, because the second she sat down, she launched into questions for Emma.

“So, how long have you lived in the neighborhood?” Regina started.

“About 7 years,” Emma said, and smiled. “I moved here from Dorchester after I met my friend Ruby, who was the one you met at your competition.”

Regina grinned. “Ah yes, the one who drags you out to social gatherings.”

Emma blushed. “Yeah, she has no filter,” she said. “But I love her anyway.”

“I think everyone needs a friend like that to push them sometimes,” Regina said, shaking her head a little. “I certainly could have used a push when I first moved here.”

Filing that little crumb of information away, Emma asked, “When did you move here?” 

“10 years ago now.”

“Where from?”

Regina looked down before answering, that same unguarded expression flashing across her face. “Maine,” she answered simply.

Emma decided not to push her on it, although she was quickly gathering a whole new list of questions about Regina’s past and life. “So what do you do when you’re not pole dancing?” she asked instead.

Regina shrugged. “Grocery shopping?” When Emma laughed she added, “Between teaching and performing and training that’s pretty much how I spend my time. How about you?”

Emma shrugged just like Regina had. “Also grocery shopping?” It felt amazing to make Regina laugh, and she was delighted at how well this was going. “Work kind of eats up as much time as I give it, so yeah, Ruby was right that I really needed to get out of my comfort zone.”

“What do you do for work?”   
“I’m a private investigator,” Emma answered, knowing there would be follow-up questions. There always were. 

“Well, that’s one I haven’t heard before,” said Regina. “Tell me more!”

Emma smiled and gave her usual elevator speech about finding people who don’t want to be found. 

“But what do you do on a daily basis?” Regina asked, and Emma had a sense this was genuine curiosity. 

“Well, a lot of it is combing through various corners of the internet to see if they show up anywhere - traffic cameras, credit card usage, other people’s social media, that kind of thing. And then staking out places where I think they might be. Depends on what the client wants - sometimes it’s just proof of life, if it’s someone who’s missing. But sometimes they want me to engage.”

Regina leaned forward with her chin on her hands. “Fascinating. How long does it take you to find people?”

“That really depends, but anywhere from a few hours to months.”

“Months?! How could somebody be untraceable for months?”

Emma leaned forward conspiratorially. “If I told you that, I’d have to kill you,” she whispered. Regina laughed loudly, and Emma sipped her coffee with a satisfied smile on her face. Regina took a sip of her coffee as well, the conversation lapsing into companionable silence for a moment. 

“Really, most people like to put their whole lives up online,” Emma said eventually, trying to sound casual, although really she was hoping to steer the conversation back towards Regina. “As a rule, I don’t, since I know how easy it is for people to trace me that way.”

Regina nodded. “Exactly. I will never understand some people’s need to detail every moment of their lives on the internet.”

“Not a social media user?” Emma asked.

“Not at all.” Regina looked up at her, and a glint in her eye. “Although I suspect you already know that about me.”

Emma gulped. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Regina shrugged. “Just guessing that you looked me up. I didn’t tell the class where that competition was happening last week, and you showed up. Now that I know what you do for work, I’m guessing you did some research.”

Emma didn’t know whether she was being accused of something or not, and she must have looked like it, because Regina laughed and assured her: “Don’t worry, it doesn’t bother me that you did. In fact I’m gratified that you took such an interest in my class and wanted to know more.”

Emma was completely off balance at this point. Did Regina know that Emma’s interest was in her, not her class? And if she did, what did she think about that? But before she could figure out what to do about any of it, Regina picked up her coffee cup and started to get up from the table.

“Well, it was lovely running into you, Emma,” she said. “See you in class next week?”

Emma nodded. “Yes. Definitely. Um, thanks for coming over to talk with me.”

“Thanks for inviting me to come talk to you.”

They held each other’s gaze for just a few seconds too long, and then both of them laughed it off.

“I’ll see you later, Emma,” Regina said, and turned and walked away.

Emma sank back down into her seat. What had just happened?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had originally kept to canon and had Emma as a bail bondsperson. I started writing it that way, and I got more and more uncomfortable writing a character who actively participates in the criminal justice system, which is inherently racist and classist. I tried to then steer the story towards her gaining awareness of that, and leaving her job, but the story quickly became something else entirely, and not what I set out to write. So I took the easy way out and changed her job to private investigator, which has different connotations. I may pick up the pieces I wrote about her as a bailbondsperson and turn it into something else down the line, but I decided this isn't the place for it.


	4. Chapter 4

Wednesday at 6pm this week saw Emma lying on her back on the floor of her bedroom, her phone on speaker next to her. Her pole dance class bag was halfway packed, and she was currently in a sports bra and panties, and was trying to sort out her wardrobe crisis with her best friend.

“Dude,” Ruby was saying. “Just wear something. She’s going to see you for like 2 minutes in whatever it is and then you’re going to strip down for her class anyway.”

“I don’t strip down…”

“Yeah, whatever, skin available for pole friction blah blah blah. I’m just saying, you have a crush on someone who’s already seen you half naked and seems interested. Please don’t fuck this up by sabotaging yourself.”

Emma didn’t answer, which was an answer in itself.

“OK, what did you wear last week?” Ruby asked.

Emma twisted her head in the direction of her laundry basket, as if that could tell her the answer. 

“I dunno. Probably the usual jeans and a t-shirt.”

“Great, so that’s what she expects you to be in. Go with that.”

“But I could really impress her, you know.”

“Emma. Darling. I love you, but nothing in your closet is impressing anyone. Besides this is part of your problem! You keep trying to impress people and then you get sick of it and stop trying and everything falls apart. Don’t try to impress. Just be yourself.”

“But what if myself is stupid?”

“I love your stupid self, so someone else definitely is going to.”

Emma laughed a little at that and sighed. “Thanks. God, this is really embarrassing.”

“Sure is,” Ruby replied way too fast.

“Rubes!”

“I’m just kidding. I’m totally giddy that you’re so excited about this woman. Now get off the floor -”

“How did you know I’m on the floor?”

“Because I know you. Now get off the floor, get dressed, and try to just be a regular human being for once, OK?”

“OK.”

Emma hung up the phone, and let her arms flop onto the floor. 

“OK,” she said out loud. “You can do this. Go be a regular human being.”

She heaved herself up, put on exactly the same thing as she’d been wearing all day, shoved the pile of discarded clothes into the corner, and got ready to go.

***

As had happened the previous two weeks, once Emma got over herself and focused in on the actual class, she was able to relax and have fun. And this time she started to feel like she was really getting things, which made it even more fun. Regina taught them a move where they “sat” on the pole and let go with both hands. It hurt like hell, but was incredibly fun to do. Emma got it on her second try, which prompted Regina to lead the class in applause for her, which made Emma blush furiously and grin from ear to ear. It was glorious.

After class, Emma hung around like she usually did. It seemed like Regina was expecting her, because she was the one who started up the conversation.

“Good job in class today, Emma,” she said enthusiastically. “Hope your legs aren’t too bruised tomorrow.”

“Oh I’m sure they will be,” Emma said, absently rubbing the spot that already felt hot. “How are you not covered in bruises head to toe?”

“Oh I am,” Regina said with a smirk. “You just can’t see most of them.”

Emma gulped. Was that flirting? Or just how pole dancers talked about their bodies?

“Funny story, actually,” Regina continued. “I had to switch doctors last year, and ended up showing the new one my pole dance pictures so she would believe that’s where the bruises came from, and not some horrible boyfriend.”

Emma had no idea what to say to that, and she just kind of gaped. Regina noticed and immediately retreated.

“I’m sorry. That’s obviously not funny really, just something that happens to pole folks a lot. I shouldn’t joke about it.”

“Yeah, um, I guess that would be kind of an awkward conversation,” Emma managed. She was halfway between losing her mind over the thought of inspecting the skin on Regina’s thighs and going down rabbit holes of memories of terrible boyfriends. None of them had done anything that drastic, but she’d had her fair share of creeps who she had to kick to the curb.

Regina stopped tidying up the studio and moved closer to Emma. “I’m really sorry,” she said in a soft voice. “That was pretty inappropriate for me to say so casually.”

Emma shook her head. “No, it’s OK. Sorry, I just don’t really know how to respond.”

“Then let’s talk about something else,” Regina squeezed Emma’s arm briefly as she turned to grab her stuff. Emma didn’t mean to, but she leaned into the touch, and suddenly her focus was entirely on the present moment.

“How is private investigation going this week?” Regina asked.

“Oh, not bad,” Emma said. As she tried to think of a good anecdote from the week, an idea popped into her head and she launched right in before her brain could stop her.

“Actually there’s this one case that I just can’t figure out,” she said, and was glad to hear her voice had recovered its confidence.

“Oh yeah? Someone who doesn’t want to be found?” Regina asked as she walked them out towards the lobby.

“Not quite,” Emma answered. “I know where they are, but there’s a whole lot I still don’t know, and I’m trying to figure out the best way to approach it.”

“Sounds intriguing.”

“It is. The person is, really. Every time I think I have them figured out, they do something to surprise me.” Emma found her shoes and brought them around to the front counter, where she proceeded to lean forward, fully aware that she was still in her tiny shorts and sports bra. “They’re kind of a mystery, and I really like solving mysteries.”

“Oh yes?” Regina said. She’d stopped what she was doing and came to perch on the stool on the other side of the counter. “I suppose that comes in handy in your line of work.”

“It does.” Emma took a breath to try to steady her nerves. If Regina didn’t get that she was flirting before, she was about to. “But you already know that about me, don’t you?” she said, quoting their conversation from the coffee shop.

To Emma’s immense relief, Regina’s face lit up as she recognized the reference, and she smiled at Emma. Or rather, smirked but in a friendly way that made Emma even more giddy.

“I suppose I do know that about you,” Regina said, and leaned forward so their faces were now only a few feet apart.

Emma grinned. “So anyway, this case I have, I know there’s a lot more to this person than meets the eye, but all of my behind the scenes work just isn’t coming up with much. I’m trying to decide if it’s worth making a personal contact.”

“Personal contact?” Regina asked. Emma tried really hard not to beam that she took the bait.

“It’s what we say in my industry when we go and have a conversation with someone we’re following. Just to get a feel for how they operate. To see if we can make sense of things any better.”

“Does it usually work?”

“Sometimes. Depends on the contact. If I can have dinner with someone, I usually get a lot of info out of them without them even knowing.”

Emma watched as Regina’s eyes narrowed. “Emma are you investigating me?” she asked. Her voice was playful, but her face wasn’t immediately readable, and Emma backtracked quickly.

“No!” she said, a little too loudly. “No, I’m just … trying to be funny. And clearly failing.”

Regina’s face softened. “No no,” she said, “It’s alright. I apologize for being suspicious.”

Emma looked up at her then. There was so much more to that statement, she could feel it. But she knew better than to try to push. Still, she could see that Regina was once again guarded, and Emma had probably taken her teasing too far. She should just let it go, and leave, and give up. But something made her instead want to put all her cards on the table first. And if she was just going to walk out and never come back, might as well give it a go.

“The truth is that you’re the one I want to know more about. And instead of just asking questions like a normal person, I was teasing you because… well, I guess that’s my way of flirting?” She hadn’t meant to phrase that like a question but that’s how it came out.

A slow smile spread over Regina’s face. “Emma Swan,” she said, “Are you flirting with your teacher?”

Emma gaped. That sounded like Regina was teasing her back, which was flirty, but maybe she actually meant that this was inappropriate, and oh my god what was she supposed to do next? Before she could get herself tied up in too many knots, though, Regina said nonchalantly, “I suppose I could have dinner with you.”

“You… what?”

“You know, personal contact? Dinner is the best way to unravel a mysterious person?”

Emma was pretty sure she actually had her mouth hanging open by this point, but managed to choke out a response. “Yes! Great. Yes, I would really like that.”

Regina grinned at her. “Wonderful. Friday night?”   
“Sure!” Emma said automatically. “Wait, no, sorry. I can’t on Friday. Saturday?”

“Saturday it is.”

Regina pulled a piece of scrap paper off the desk, and wrote her phone number on it. She gave it to Emma, and then shooed her out so she could go clean the studio. Emma left in an absolute daze.

***

“YOU ASKED HER OUT???” Ruby dropped the spoon she was using to stir the dish she was making for them during their usual Friday night friend date.

Emma tried to answer, but Ruby kept going. “WHEN WERE YOU GOING TO TELL ME THIS? What happened? What did she say? When are you going?”

“Oh my God, Ruby, stop talking for two seconds and I’ll tell you.”

“You saw her on Wednesday and you waited until today to tell me?” Ruby swatted at Emma with a kitchen towel. Emma caught it and yanked it away from her.

“Chill out Ruby! God.” Emma went and sat at the island in Ruby’s kitchen, taking that towel with her. “I didn’t say anything because I just … wanted to be sure it was real.”

Ruby softened immediately. “Emma,” she said, walking towards her. “I hate when you doubt yourself like that.”

Emma shrugged. “I know. But I can’t help it.”

“I know,” Ruby replied. Emma sighed. This was one of the reasons she loved Ruby so much. She never made her feel like an idiot for all of her fears and insecurities around relationships. 

“So?” Ruby said. “If you’re telling me then you have confirmation?”

Emma blushed immediately and nodded.

Ruby squealed in excitement. “Tell me everything.”

She turned back to cooking while Emma related the intensely awkward way she kind of asked Regina out, and Regina kind of asked herself out on Emma’s behalf. “And, well, she gave me her phone number, and I waited 24 hours and then called her, and now we’re having dinner tomorrow,” Emma finished up.

Ruby was literally bouncing up and down by the stove, and Emma had to laugh. She supposed it had been a really long time since she’d been on a real date - not just a hook-up. And yeah, she was excited. She was also intensely nervous. Regina intrigued her, but she also kept her off-balance all the time. Which was exciting, and terrifying, and made Emma buzz with energy.

“Hey,” Ruby said, and Emma glanced up to see her looking stern. “You’re going into your head. That’s not allowed on Friday friend dates. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

Emma looked down again. “I’m just nervous.”

“Nervous isn’t always bad! What are you nervous about?”

“I don’t know what to expect. I feel like there’s so much more to her than meets the eye, and that’s part of what’s interesting. But I don’t … what do I say?”

“You’re such a dork. You say, ‘Regina, tell me something interesting about yourself.’ Or ‘What kind of movies do you like,’ or ‘do you want to have sex with me tonight.’”

“Ruby!”

“What? It would be honest.”

“Too honest,” Emma grumbled.

“OK, fine, save that one for the second date.”

Emma smiled to herself at that, and watched Ruby start to grin at her. 

“You love the idea of having a second date with her,” Ruby teased. But in the next moment she got serious again: “Em, I promise. You’re interesting. You’re super attractive. You’re funny when you let yourself be. Just don’t get in your own way, and you’ll be great.”

“I’ll try,” Emma said. “OK. Now for the hardest part: what the hell do I wear?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading and hanging on while I update extremely sporadically. I have a pretty good idea where I"m going with this now, though, so stay tuned for some more plot, loads of awkward flirting, and some sexy times.


	5. Chapter 5

Emma was sweating already, and it was only 4:30pm. She was meeting Regina at a restaurant in the neighborhood at 7. Ruby was coming over at 6 to help her choose an outfit. The only thing she could think to do at this moment was to go for a run. So she did, and let the movement smooth out her thoughts. Ruby had said to her over and over that sometimes being nervous was a good sign - it showed you cared. Emma was trying to remember that every time her stomach dropped and she felt the blood drain from her face. She was nervous because she was actually interested in this woman. Like, interested to get to know her, and find out who she really was. And that felt emotional, as well as physical, and that was what scared her. She didn’t let people get close. She didn’t let herself open up. And yet here she was, pretty much preparing to do just that. As much as Regina was a mystery to unravel, Emma realized that she was often the same way. And if she really wanted to go into this date differently than the hundreds of others that had gone nowhere, she needed to let herself be open. THAT was why she was nervous.

Emma took a shower, and was just working a comb through her long hair when Ruby showed up, 10 minutes early. Typical. Her best friend walked immediately to her closet, chattering away about nothing while she grabbed a few outfit options and tossed them on the bed. Emma finished up with her hair and stood in her bathrobe eyeing the options.

“OK,” said Ruby, “we have three directions we could go here. 

“Casual -” she gestured to Emma’s usual skinny jeans and a nice sapphire blue button down shirt.

“Dressy -” she tossed a pair of fitted ankle pants on top of the jeans, along with the one pair of heels Emma owned.

“Or my favorite, slutty -” she picked up the dress she had brought from her own closet that would probably barely cover Emma’s ass.

Emma grabbed the dress and tossed it towards the door of her bedroom. “Obviously not.”

Ruby laughed and rolled her eyes. “Fiiiiine. But if you go with that button down shirt you are not buttoning it up all the way.”

***

Emma did go with the button-down shirt, with the first two buttons undone as per Ruby’s request. She liked this shirt on her, but probably wouldn’t have chosen it, which is why she’d called Ruby for help in the first place. She’d gone with a different pair of pants, though, ones with pockets. And she knew she’d be too worried about twisting her ankle to wear heels, so she’d compromised and worn a pair of ballet flats that Ruby had also brought over, because she knew her best friend only had two pairs of shoes she would wear and neither of them were suitable for a date.

Emma felt confident in her clothes, which helped with the nerves as she walked into the Thai place they’d agreed on. Regina was already there, which, given that Emma herself was 10 minutes early, she took as a sign that she was eager. Or at least not having second thoughts. Regina stood up to greet her, and then started to laugh as she took in her appearance. Emma glanced down at her outfit and Regina’s, which were nearly identical, and joined in the laughter. 

“Well, I guess black pants and a blue shirt is a classic date look,” Emma said.

“Apparently,” Regina chuckled. “Can I give you a hug?”

Emma tried to contain her face from lighting up as she nodded, and leaned forward to accept the brief embrace. She could smell vanilla or maybe coconut from Regina’s shampoo as she did, and she had to remind herself not to be a creeper and sniff her hair. They both smiled at each other as they sat down.

“Well, you have my friend Ruby to thank for the outfit,” Emma said, “so really it’s her you’re matching.”

“She has good taste,” Regina said, “You look wonderful.”

Emma could feel the color rising in her cheeks, and she mumbled some kind of thank you as she grabbed the menu. She glanced up to see Regina watching her with a playful glint in her eyes.

“You certainly do blush easily,” she said to Emma, who, on cue, turned redder. Regina laughed. “It’s very charming.”

“You’re very charming,” Emma countered. It was supposed to be teasing, but it was actually a nice thing to say and she was completely failing at this. She squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment. “Well that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever said on a first date.”

Regina was still grinning at her, though, so maybe she appreciated Emma’s bumbling attempts at flirting?

“Have you been here before?” Emma changed the subject to deflect any more teasing. 

“You know, I’ve never actually dined in here,” Regina replied as she perused the menu. “It’s a frequent take-out option though.”

“Me too. Probably the pad-see-ew is my favorite.”

“Ooh, I haven’t had that here. Maybe I’ll get that.”

“Well, that’s what I was going to get, but I guess if we’re wearing the same outfit, we might as well get the same dish?”

Regina laughed. “No, I”ll get something else and just steal some off of your plate.”

Emma felt warmth spread through her chest this time. The casual way Regina said that made her insides turn to mush in the best way possible. Once they’d ordered, though, and were left sitting face to face, Emma immediately clammed up. She’d thought of a million ways to spark conversation over the last couple days, and suddenly all of them left her head. 

“So, Miss Swan,” Regina said after a beat, “I believe we’re here so you can try to get my secrets out of me.”

Emma gulped. This was what had her so nervous! The way Regina teased her while also being completely serious and so bizarrely forthright. But she took a breath, reminded herself that she could play along if she let herself do it, and took up the challenge.

“Right. Well, I suppose I’ll play this just like any other personal contact for my job.”

“By all means.” Regina leaned forward. “Show me how it’s done.”

Emma ignored the fluttering in her stomach as she watched Regina’s lips curl into a smirk. She did, in fact, know how to do this. She just needed to pick one piece of information to get to. It wouldn’t work unless it was specific. She thought back to her internet stalking, errrr, research, and the holes in it, as well as the way Regina seemed to have something to hide about her past. Alright, Emma thought, let’s start with why and when she came to Boston.

“So you live around here?” she said.

Regina’s smirk didn’t waver as she sat back in her seat. They were definitely playing a game now, and Emma could see that Regina was determined to win.

“I do,” Regina answered.

“I really like this neighborhood,” Emma said, a careful ease in her voice. “It’s like a small town within the city. I see the same people when I get coffee every day, and I don’t really know their names, but we certainly recognize each other.”

“Or at least you think they recognize you. Maybe they’re just being polite,” said Regina.

“Maybe,” Emma said, “but Boston isn’t exactly known for being polite.”

Regina laughed at that. “That’s for sure.”

“Do you live with anyone?” Emma asked.

Regina narrowed her eyes. “Trying to decide whether to invite yourself over after dinner?” she asked.

This would have been the kind of comment that turned Emma into a blubbering mess, except that now she was in investigation mode, and so every response was calculated. She was in fact trying to turn the tables on Regina, keep her off balance for long enough that Emma could slide a question in and get her to answer it honestly. “Trying to decide if you’re the kind of person who likes being alone more than being with people,” she said.

It worked. Regina blinked at her, and her smirk faltered for a moment. Emma saw her start to recoil, and quickly kept talking. Ironically, she’d found honesty the best way to get other people to tell her things about them. The only difference between this and her work interactions was that she was actually being honest, not acting.

“Because that’s how I am,” she said. “ Ruby, my best friend who I’m always talking about, has asked me to move in with her multiple times. And I know it would save money, and we’d probably get along just fine, but I just need quiet time, you know?”

“Yes,” Regina conceded, “I do know. I think for me it’s because teaching takes so much energy, I need to just unwind by myself.”

Emma took a sip of water. “I bet. Do you like teaching, though?”

“I do!”

“What do you like about it?”

Regina thought for a moment. “I suppose I like watching people get more confident. People will come into class and have no idea what they’re capable of, and watching them find out and do even more than they thought they could is incredibly rewarding.”

“That’s beautiful, Regina,” Emma said, in an entirely uncalculated moment of appreciation. But she got herself back on track. She’d get something out of Regina and then stop the game they’d set up. “What was it that made you find out what you were capable of?”

Regina looked taken aback by the question, and Emma felt a thrill. This might actually work. “I don’t know,” Regina said. “Probably having to deal with my mother, honestly,” she said, almost to herself, and then looked up sharply. Gotcha, Emma thought.

“Anyway,” Emma said casually, “How come you live here when the studio is all the way on the other side of the city?”

“I moved here when I first came to Boston,” Regina said, which Emma thought she remembered from their brief coffee shop conversation. “And I suppose I just liked it, even though I have to commute to the studio. But at least I don’t have to go during rush hour.”

“Seriously,” Emma said. “Sometimes I miss living in a small town just because there was no traffic.”

Regina took the bait. “Where did you used to live?”

“All over,” Emma said. “Most recently outside of Minneapolis, though. Zero traffic, but the winters were so awful.”

“Ugh, I can only imagine. The town I grew up in got snowed in regularly. I hate winter.”

“Did you say you were from Maine?” Emma asked.

Regina nodded. “I wasn’t born there, but I grew up there most of my life.”

“Was Boston just the closest city you could move to?”

“No. I tried to move farther away, but …” Regina trailed off, and her smirk returned.

“Emma Swan,” she said, “You almost got me.”

Emma shrugged. “So does that mean your secrets have something to do with your family of origin?” she asked.

She watched for the moment that Regina realized she’d played right into Emma’s hand in cutting her answer to the last question off. For a split second, Emma thought she was going to get angry, but she just laughed, and smiled at Emma in a genuine way this time.

“You’re good at that,” she said.

Emma smiled back at her. “Thanks. I hope you don’t feel too … investigated.”

“Not at all,” Regina said. “It was fun to watch you in action.”

Emma beamed.

“But was everything you said true?”

Emma nodded quickly. “Normally it wouldn’t be true at all, but since I”m not actually investigating you, I didn’t have to lie.”

“Are you good at lying?”

“Yes. Are you?”

Regina laughed. “Depends on who I’m lying to.”

“Fair.”

They both laughed, and the tension from the investigation game started to dissipate. Their food arrived and the conversation turned casual for a while - about the neighborhood, and favorite foods, and silly memes they’d seen online. It was surprisingly fun, once they stopped playing games with each other and just sat and talked. Emma relaxed enough to let herself be funny, and Regina laughed good-naturedly at even the jokes that didn’t quite land. It was definitely the best first date Emma had had for a while. When they were finished eating, they split the bill without really talking about it, and got up to leave. Standing outside the restaurant, Emma turned to Regina.

“So that was fun,” she said.

She was rewarded with a big smile from Regina. “Indeed it was. May I kiss you goodnight?”

Once again Emma was pulled off balance by how blunt Regina could be. But it was also nice to take the guesswork out of the end of the date. So Emma pulled herself together, answered “yes” softly, and breathed in as Regina took a step forward. Regina pressed her lips to Emma’s, and a tingling warmth spread through Emma’s body, head to toe. She leaned farther forward and put a tentative hand on Regina’s hip. Regina melted all the way into her, deepening the kiss with a little sigh that made Emma hold her closer. It was glorious. 

“Regina?” A high voice pierced the cocoon they’d wrapped themselves in. Emma felt Regina’s body go rigid, but she didn’t step away immediately. Instead she pulled her lips away and looked down at the ground as her hands slowly released from their spots on Emma’s body where they’d been holding on.

“Mother,” she said, turning around. “What in the hell are you doing in Boston?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” said the woman who was apparently Regina’s mother. She was tall and had a pinched look about her. Emma clocked her extremely expensive coat and shoes, as well as the man hovering to one side who was clearly a bodyguard. Without even thinking, Emma took up a stance diagonal to the guard, one hand going protectively to Regina’s arm. She didn’t like this situation at all.

“I live here, Mother,” Regina was saying. Spitting, really, for how her voice dripped with suppressed anger. “And I thought I made it clear the last time that you are never to try to find me again.”

“Oh, Regina,” the woman laughed. “I’m not here for you. I just happened to find you … cavorting about on the street as I was walking by.”

“Then by all means, keep walking,” sneered Regina. She stepped to one side with a little bow, indicating that her mother should walk by them. Of course the woman didn’t move - Emma hadn’t expected her to, and she guessed Regina hadn’t either.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your little friend?” the woman asked.

Regina stepped fully in front of Emma, who was not expecting that kind of reaction. 

“Absolutely not,” Regina said, a hand going out to keep Emma behind her. “And you know why, too.”

With that, she grabbed Emma’s hand, and turned to walk the other direction, despite it being the wrong way for both of them.

“I suggest you take her to wherever she’s staying” Regina said over her shoulder to the guard. To his credit, he nodded at her, but didn’t move until Regina’s mother turned away. Then he quickly shepherded her into a waiting black SUV. Emma turned to Regina, who was staring straight ahead and walking fast. She didn’t bother saying anything - she could see Regina was too far gone into her own head. They speed-walked another four blocks, and then Regina finally started to slow down. She released the death-grip she’d had on Emma’s hand and stopped to lean against a tree.

“I’m so sorry about that,” Regina whispered.

Emma grabbed her hand, gently, and shook her head. “Nothing to apologize for.”

Regina sighed. “That’s sweet of you to say, but I can’t think of a more disastrous way to end a date.”

Emma snorted. “I can.”

Regina smiled weakly. “OK, fine, I can too. But it was pretty bad.”

“Yep, having your date’s terrifying and rich mother catch you kissing on the street is definitely one for the books.”

Regina looked at her quizzically. 

“The shoes,” Emma said in response to Regina’s silent question. “And then the bodyguard. Only rich people hire bodyguards.”

“You noticed that, huh?”

“Hard not to.”

“You’d be surprised.”

Emma let that go although she was dying to know everything about what had just happened and the stories that Regina was clearly referring to with that comment and the ‘you know why’ comment to her mother.

“Well,” Emma said, determined to end things on a better note, “before all of that, it was a pretty good date, yeah?”

Regina smiled sadly at her. “It was wonderful, Emma.”

Seizing the opportunity, Emma asked, “May I kiss you goodnight?”

That got a real smile from Regina, who glanced around to make sure nobody was around, and then just nodded at Emma. Emma held her gently this time, but that same electricity shot through her system as their lips connected. Regina pulled away after just a minute, but it was with a soft smile on her face.

“Thank you,” said Regina, making Emma blush.

“So, do you need me to walk you home?”

Regina looked like she was about to say no, but then she took Emma’s hand and answered, “that would be nice.”

Emma led Regina lead the conversation on the way to her apartment, and didn’t push when Regina didn’t volunteer any information except to say that her mother was likely staying at a hotel downtown and that she definitely hadn’t heard the last from her. They mostly walked in silence, but it was comfortable, and Emma was thrilled when Regina kissed her again before going in the door of her building. The second Emma turned away she fished her phone out of her pocket and dialed Ruby. She had to tell her everything right this minute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting regularly is clearly not in the cards for this year. But I'm going to keep working on it, so stay tuned! Lots more to find out about Regina's past, and we're headed towards some sexier chapters, too.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello. I'm back. I really didn't want to abandon this story, and now I've got my life in order to allow me to write again. So here we go! Also I am 100% making up what tools are available to a PI trying to track somebody down, so don't quote me on any of this. :)

Emma wasn’t exactly surprised that she came out of her date with Regina with more questions than she’d had going in. But somehow the whole situation with Regina’s terrifying mother showing up made the mystery take on a different tone. Emma didn’t want to play and banter anymore - she wanted to know what had happened to Regina. She recognized that the banter was probably a mask Regina wore to keep herself safe. Emma knew about that, and she respected that, so she wasn’t going to push. But damn if she wanted to.

She waited almost exactly 24 hours before texting Regina, because Ruby told her to. Apparently she wasn’t supposed to seem clingy or desperate? Clingy, OK, Emma didn’t want to be that. But she was a little desperate. Regina was fascinating and those kisses left Emma wanting so so so much more.

Emma held her breath as she sent the generic “Hi how are you” text. And she was rewarded almost instantly with a reply. After a few pleasantries, though, she hesitated, trying to find the right words to ask Regina out again. As she was thinking, another text came through.

<Are you coming back to pole class on Wednesday?>

Emma typed out an enthusiastic yes with four exclamation points, and then deleted it. Then she added something about only if it wasn’t too weird, and then deleted it. Finally, she retreated to the safety of teasing.

<Do you want me to come back to pole class on Wednesday?>

Regina replied quickly: <That depends. I want you to keep pole dancing because you seem really taken with it and you’re good. I also want to go out with you again, so if it’s too weird to date your teacher I could recommend another class.>

Well, that was straightforward, Emma thought, and felt herself bounce in her seat a little. 

<We’re two consenting adults. I won’t make it weird if you won’t.> she wrote back.

<Does that mean you’ll go out with me again?>

Emma groaned. Definitely should have led with that part. Oh well, now was the time for the yes with four exclamation points. After making plans to meet up for happy hour on Tuesday, Regina went quiet for a few minutes. Emma basked in the glow of a second date with a beautiful woman who she was very interested in. When another text came in, she grabbed her phone eagerly.

<Emma, I’m so very sorry about the debacle with my mother. I don’t particularly want to talk about it, but you must have questions, and I’ll do my best to explain on Tuesday.>

Emma just about melted at the honesty behind this. She quickly reassured Regina that it was fine, but then added that she would like to hear the overview. She figured that was about the right tone. Regina’s response of three pink hearts told her she figured right.

***

Tuesday afternoon saw Emma once again having a wardrobe crisis. Ruby was still at work, though, so it was up to her to sort herself out. She briefly contemplated wearing exactly the same thing as Saturday and just making a joke out of it, but talked herself out of that one. She wanted to encourage the more honest and genuine route they started to go down, and beginning with a joke didn’t seem like the right move. She had Ruby’s advice ringing in her head to not try to impress this woman - just to be herself. Which was terrifying, but probably the right move. And at least happy hour was lower stakes than dinner from an outfit perspective. She ended up going with some advice she’d read online someplace and wore the outfit that she always picked right after doing laundry, which was clearly her favorite: skinny jeans and a simple black tank top with a red overshirt. If nothing else it made her feel like herself.

Emma walked to the bar they’d agreed on, quietly appreciating how nice it was to walk to a date. No traffic to worry about, and the movement helped her arrive a little less nervous than before. Regina, on the other hand, looked a whole lot less confident than she had on their first date when she walked in. But she smiled broadly when Emma waved at her and stood up to offer her a hug. Regina embraced her, and Emma couldn’t help the sigh that escaped at having her in her arms. She figured Regina had heard this, because when they parted, the smirk was back on Regina’s face. Emma blushed. Again. And then Regina chuckled and brushed Emma’s cheek with her fingers, and Emma blushed even harder, and Regina laughed again, and it was perfect and embarrassing all at once.

“Well hello,” Regina said. “I guess you’re as glad to see me as I am to see you.”

More blushing.

“I pretty much counted down the hours since this morning,” Emma admitted. 

Regina smiled softly at this, and reached out to take Emma’s hand under the table. “That’s very sweet,” she said. “I’m glad we’re doing this.”

“Me too.”

The waiter came over to take their drink orders, and Regina didn’t let go of Emma’s hand. It wasn’t until this moment that Emma realized that neither of them had any qualms about being out in public and being affectionate, and she thanked her past self for having moved to a very gay friendly city. Drinks and snacks ordered, Emma was about to launch into her prepared list of questions (because maybe eventually she could relax and just talk, but she wanted this date to go well and she wasn’t about to take chances). But Regina started to talk first, and Emma let her.

“So should we start with the elephant in the room?” Regina said.

“Only if you want to,” Emma replied.

“I’m sure you want to know what that thing with my mother was all about.”

“I mean, I’m basically dying of curiosity, but I’m also trying to be nice and not push you to talk about something hard?”

Regina laughed and squeezed Emma’s hand.

“I’d rather get it out of the way,” she said. “The short version is that my mother and I had a major falling out about ten years ago, which prompted me to move here. And then things got worse and I had to cut her out of my life completely. But she isn’t very good at taking no for an answer, and shows up periodically despite my express directions not to. She’ll give up eventually, but she usually fucks something up for me before she does, and then I get to pick up the pieces.”

The waiter came back with their drinks, and Regina took her hand from Emma’s to grab her wine glass and take a swig. Emma waited to see if she would continue. When she didn’t, Emma chose her question carefully.

“What does she want from you?” she asked.

Regina shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Hell if I know. I mean, that’s not entirely true. She wants me to come home and be the perfect heir to the throne, but I have made it abundantly clear that I’m not going to, and I’m not entirely sure how to convince her that I mean it, and have meant it every time for the last ten years.”

“That sounds super shitty,” was about all Emma could think to say.

Regina smiled sadly. “It is.” Then she shook her head as if to clear the air. “But most of the time it doesn’t really bother me. It’s just these times when she tries to insert herself that make me crazy.”

“You could get a restraining order.”

“I’ve thought about it.”

“But that might just inflame her more,” Emma said, thinking she knew exactly the type of person this mother of hers was.

“You got it,” Regina confirmed. “Anyway. I really don’t want her to ruin any more dates, so that’s all I really want to say about it, if you don’t mind.”

Emma chewed on her lip. “I’m happy not to talk about it after one more question.” She barely waited for Regina to nod before asking “does she make you feel physically unsafe?”

At this, Regina’s eyes softened and she took Emma’s hand again. “No,” she said quietly, “but I rather enjoy that you’re concerned about that.”

Emma nodded, even though her gut was telling her that this “no” was not in fact the whole story. She would take Regina at her word for the moment, though.

“So,” Regina said in a voice clearly meant to change the tone of the conversation, “how are the pole bruises?”

Emma floated home around 9pm after three rounds of drinks and snacks that she supposed had turned into dinner and a truly spectacular make-out session in the doorway of her apartment building. She’d thought about inviting Regina up, but honestly she didn’t want to rush things. She felt sure they would have a third date, and even though her body felt like it couldn’t wait, she did actually want to build the tension up even more. Because oh, their bodies responded to each other. She closed her eyes and grinned at the memory of hands wandering under shirt hems, and tongues sliding against each other, and the delicious buzz of being out in public doing all of that. It was surprisingly hot. Emma wasn’t really one for PDA, but the quiet street had only had a few people walking past, and it was exciting to think of how it must look to them. When she got into bed that night, she reached between her legs and came extremely fast to thoughts of Regina, made even better by the possibility that soon it could be Regina’s fingers on her instead of her own.

***

For the first time on Wednesday, Emma was just plain excited for pole dance class, instead of halfway between nervous and giddy. But when she walked in, someone else was checking students in, and Regina was nowhere to be found. Emma went to the bathroom to change, wondering if Regina’s was teaching the previous class as well. But when it was time for her class to start, the new person at the front desk walked into the studio with them. Emma hesitated for half a second before excusing herself to bring her phone to the bathroom to call Regina. When it went straight to voicemail, she didn’t waste any time changing back into street clothes, grabbing her stuff, and running out the door. She would apologize to the instructor later. That slight hesitation in Regina’s voice when Emma had asked if her mother made her feel unsafe occupied Emma’s thoughts entirely as she drove home. 

She booted her laptop up as she kicked off her shoes, firing off a quick text to Ruby to let her know that Regina was missing. Her phone rang, and she grabbed it, but it was Ruby.

“Missing, missing, or ignoring you?” Ruby said by way of greeting.

“Rubes, not now,” Emma sighed, tucking her phone under her ear as she pulled up her traffic cam software. She’d start in Davis Square and near the pole studio.

“Sorry, babe,” Ruby said, “I just need to know what kind of crisis we’re dealing with.”

“Missing missing,” Emma said. “We had an amazing date last night, and then she didn’t show up to teach class today and her phone is off. Plus her mother is some kind of control freak and I’m honestly worried about her, OK?”

“I’ll be there in 15 minutes,” Ruby said and hung up.

By the time Ruby knocked on her door, Emma had an actual lead and was feeling more determined than panicked. She had tried Regina’s phone a few more times, but it remained off and therefore untraceable. But she had spotted what she deduced was Regina’s car leaving the neighborhood early this morning, and again at the toll for 95 North, and Emma was pretty convinced Regina had driven to her hometown in Maine. Perhaps to lure her mother back there, or check if she was there, or something.

She explained all of this to Ruby while walking around the apartment putting things into a pile that she would need. Ruby watched her for a minute and then came and put a hand on her arm.

“Are you sure you want to go after her, Emma?”

Emma didn’t even bother to ask how Ruby knew what she was planning. She shrugged. “I’m worried about her.”

“I know you are, but what if you waited a day, to see if she turns her phone back on and gets back to you?”

Emma sat down heavily on her couch. “You think I shouldn’t.”

Ruby came to sit next to her, draping a comforting arm over Emma’s shoulder. “I don’t know if you should or shouldn’t, I just want you to take a breath and think it through before you do.”

Emma looked at her friend. “I really like her, Rubes,” she whispered. “Like, in a kind of scary way that makes me want to do stupid things like tracking her to Maine.”

Ruby brushed Emma’s hair out of her face. “Emma, I don’t know how to ask this without sounding like a dick, so you have permission to call me one after I do: do you think Regina would be happy to see you? Maybe there’s a reason she didn’t tell you she was going?”

Emma sighed. Of course that thought had been kicking around her brain for the last 10 minutes, but until Ruby said it outloud, she hadn’t let herself admit it. “I don’t know,” she said. “But maybe I’m OK finding out?”

For some reason that made Ruby’s entire demeanor change, and she grinned. “I’ll make you a thermos of coffee,” she said, and waltzed off to Emma’s kitchen.

“What?” Emma shouted after her. “Why are you grinning?”

“Because you’re not a big romantic gesture person, and you’re about to make a big romantic gesture.”

“She could be in trouble! I’m not trying to pull something…”

“I know, I know. But admit it - riding in like a white knight to save her is pretty romantic.”

“Only if it works.”

That sobered Ruby up. “True. But I know you. You can take care of yourself, and you know what to do in a crisis. So as long as you find her, you’ll be able to do whatever it takes to keep her safe.”

20 minutes later Emma had a work kit with various supplies, a backpack with overnight things, and a bag of snacks stuffed into the back seat of her little yellow bug. Ruby was instructing her to check in when she got to the town she was heading for. Emma drove off into the twilight after trying Regina’s phone yet again, with the same result. She had shifted completely into work mode, and was set and determined to find this woman, as Ruby had said, whatever it took.


	7. Chapter 7

With only a little bit of speeding on the highway, Emma made it to Storybrooke, Maine in just under 2 hours. She knew she needed to wait until morning to do anything, and even though she was fine sleeping in her car, she wanted to see if she could get on wifi to do some more investigating, so when she saw a small sign pointing to “Granny’s Bed and Breakfast,” she found a parking spot and went in.

The B&B was a little house attached to a diner that looked like it had been the house next door that had been converted into a restaurant. The whole thing pretty much screamed quaint tourist town, and Emma was not at all surprised by the overwhelming floral wallpaper and scent of potpourri when she walked in. When she rang the bell, a middle-aged woman came bustling down the stairs, looking equally delighted and surprised to have a guest. Emma was the only guest for the night, but then again it was a Tuesday in March- not exactly peak tourist season. 

The room contained a similar explosion of floral print, but it was clean and warm and came with wifi and fresh cookies. No complaints at all. Emma dumped her stuff on the floor and immediately got to work. She’d had some ideas about how to figure out the identity of Regina’s mother on the drive up, and went to work following up on them. 

By the time the grandfather clock in the hallway chimed midnight, Emma was reasonably confident that Cora Gardener Mills was not only Regina’s mother but also the former Mayor of Storybrooke, Maine (seriously who names a town Storybrooke?), and that Regina’s father was where the money came from. Emma had also gone back over the footage and records she’d pulled earlier and confirmed that she had Regina’s car correctly identified, and that it was seen at every toll booth on 95 North between Boston and Maine that morning. She couldn’t find Cora Mills’ address, but she had a good map of the town and a couple ideas of where to start, based on the real estate values. She’d case those areas for Regina’s car for a start, and go from there.

She brushed her teeth, changed into a T-shirt, and climbed into bed. She knew it wasn’t going to be a restful night, but she tried to comfort herself with the knowledge that she also hadn’t seen any reports of car accidents or anything. She gave no thought at all to how quickly she’d allowed Regina to become her sole focus. That was a question for later once she knew she was safe.

***

Emma managed to get a few hours of sleep, but when her alarm went off at 5:45, she was up and out of bed in no time. The B&B host had said breakfast started at 6am, and this time of year that would be perfect timing with the sunrise. Seeing as how she was the only guest, Emma had expected some baked goods and coffee, but when she came downstairs, the host, who honest to God had introduced herself as Granny, insisted on cooking her eggs and bacon too. Emma would have refused except that the mere mention of bacon set her stomach rumbling, and she figured if she ate well now she wouldn’t have to stop for food later.

When Granny (which Emma couldn’t bring herself to say, so avoided using the woman’s name) came back and sat down to eat with her, Emma took the opportunity to do a little digging.

“So I’m here at the recommendation of a friend,” she said, watching carefully for what would happen when she added, “Regina Mills.”

Granny’s eyebrows shot up, but the rest of her stayed carefully collected as she responded “oh really? So nice to know Regina is sending us visitors.”

“You know her?” Emma asked, looking back to her food to allow the woman to feel more free to respond.

“She grew up here, but like a lot of young people these days, she moved to the city. Is that where you know her from?”

Emma nodded. “I wanted to spend some time away, just for a little vacation, you know, and she suggested I come here. Kind of a last minute idea,” she added, “which is why I showed up so late.”

Granny smiled kindly, and began to rattle off beach walks and scenic overlooks for Emma to try. Emma listened with half an ear while planning her route for the morning in her head. She thanked the woman for breakfast, and was out the door by 6:45am. She was sure her host knew she was hiding something, but thankfully she hadn’t tried to pry. Emma supposed that was a good trait in a B&B host.

In the daylight the town was even more quaint. It was ridiculous, really. From the rustic wood fired oven bread place next door to something called Mr. Gold’s Pawn Shop, the whole thing felt made up, like someone had abandoned a movie set and people had moved in. Past the main street, though, it looked like most small towns around here - one gas station, streets of little bungalows with short wooden fences, and the occasional giant mansion that had probably stood by themselves at one point but where now surrounded by neighbors. Emma headed to where the concentration of mansions was higher, and started to roll through the streets, looking for the black Volvo she’d identified as Regina’s. The town was almost entirely quiet at this hour, apart from a few pick-ups, presumably taking their occupants to work. Emma hoped it wasn’t the kind of place where a yellow VW bug cruising through a rich neighborhood got reported to the police. That had definitely happened before, and she double checked that she had her PI license handy. 

And then just like that, there was Regina’s car. It was parked on the street in front of one of these mansions, and Emma let out a breath she hadn’t quite realized she was holding. She pulled into a spot across the street and looked around. She couldn’t see any lights on, but given that there weren’t a ton of other cars parked, she could assume Regina had gone into that particular house, rather than another on the block. It was at this point that her nerve began to fail. For a job, she knew what to do. But this wasn’t a job. This was … she actually had no idea what she was doing here. The night before it had felt like she had no choice but to run after Regina. But now that she was here every doubt that was lurking in the back of her mind came flooding in, and she was suddenly paralyzed. What if Regina thought Emma was stalking her? What if she had simply forgotten to tell Emma that she was planning to come up to Maine? On the other hand, what if she had come up with the intention of coming back later and something bad had happened?

As Emma’s mind was spiraling, though, her phone suddenly lit up, and when she looked down, it was a text from Regina. Emma grabbed the phone so fast, she fumbled and dropped it. She swore and picked it up as a second text came in from Ruby, wanting to know if she was OK this morning. Emma opened the one from Ruby first, just to make sure she didn’t forget to check in. She typed off a quick “all quiet so far” and then opened Regina’s.

<I’m so sorry I missed your calls yesterday. Hope the substitute taught a good class.>

That was it. It was barely personal, and Emma was even less sure about anything. Had she misread how their date went, too? Had she just chased after someone who didn’t need her and didn’t want her? She felt tears well up, and out of habit she called Ruby - something Ruby had had to teach her to do years ago, but which now felt like second nature.

“I thought you said you were fine,” Ruby said when she heard the catch in Emma’s voice when they said hello. Emma told her about the text and how she was suddenly seeing how stupid this whole thing was.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Ruby stopped her. “Everything you said about Regina so far makes me think you two have way too much in common.”

“What?”

“When you get scared you pull away, Em. I would bet you a lot of money that’s exactly what she’s doing. Either because she’s just as scared of real relationships as you are, or this thing with her mother has her spooked.”

Emma thought about that. “I guess it’s possible.”

“So text her back. Tell her you’re worried about her. See what she says.”

“Should I tell her I’m sitting in the car outside what I assume is her mother’s house?”

“God, Em, when you say it like that it does sound creepy. Yeah, maybe don’t lead with that.”

“I could just go home and never tell her I was here.”

“You could. Or you could be honest with her and tell her you were so worried about her that you drove up to Maine to find her. Maybe don’t tell her you found her. Let her give you directions.”

Emma smiled a little at that. “Thanks, Ruby. You know I don’t deserve you, right?”

“Bullshit. Everyone deserves me. Love you, Em. Check in later?”

“I will. Love you, too.”

Emma sighed and wiped her nose on her sleeve because whatever, she was alone in her car. She tried a few versions before settling on a text back to Regina: <I’m really glad to hear from you. Are you OK? When you didn’t show up and your phone was off I got really worried. And, um, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I used my PI access to track your car and I followed you to Maine. Which you will either find endearing or creepy, and I guess I get to live with the consequences either way.>

She was pretty much resigned to the fact that this could mean the end of any prospects she had with Regina, but Ruby was right that she had to tell her the truth. If for no other reason than that she would be worried about whether to tell her after the fact or not. Not thirty seconds after she pressed send, her phone rang. It was Regina.

“Hi,” she said.

“You followed me up here?” Emma tried to decode the tone of voice, which didn’t sound creeped out, but it was hard to tell.

“Um, yeah. I’m sorry - “ she broke off. Regina was very clearly crying on the other end of the phone, and Emma now had absolutely no idea what to do. “Are you OK?” she asked, which was unbelievably inadequate, but she couldn’t tell where she stood yet.

“I can’t believe you did that,” Regina said. She was sniffing a little but her voice sounded steadier, and still didn’t sound angry. But Emma wasn’t sure.

“I’m sorry if it was too much. I was worried and I guess I didn’t really think -”

“Emma.” Regina interrupted. “Emma, I’m glad you’re here. I’m not used to someone being worried about me. Let alone tracking me down to make sure. I’m - wait, are you sitting outside my mother’s house?”

Emma whipped her head around, and could just make out a figure standing in the window of the house. She tentatively raised a hand in greeting and whispered “um, yes?”

Regina laughed and hung up. Emma felt like she was going to throw up. Regina seemed touched that she was worried? But everything had sounded like it could have meant a lot of things, and then she cried, and then she laughed, and then she hung up? Emma had no idea what to expect next. But then Regina came running down the long walk in front of the house, and Emma could see her smile from across the street. She leaped out of the car just in time to catch Regina in her arms as she ran up to her. Regina held her tight, and tangled her fingers into Emma’s hair, as if to anchor herself there. Emma held her until Regina loosened her arms, and then she stood back to look at her. Regina’s eyes looked tired and her hair was a mess and she was still in pajamas. Before Emma could say anything, Regina took her hands. 

“Give me 5 minutes to change, and then let’s go walk on the beach.”

Emma was so flustered she couldn’t find her voice, so she just nodded. And when Regina kissed her, Emma leaned in and let her brain turn off as she melted into the warmth of the gesture. While she waited for Regina, she pulled out her phone to text Ruby.

<I found her. She’s glad to see me. We’re going to walk on the beach.>

The string of emojis Ruby sent back banished the last of Emma’s fear, and she sat with a small smile until Regina returned, with real clothes and a small bag, and climbed into the passenger seat.

“Let’s go,” she said.

Emma grinned and turned on the car. “Where to?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Granny and Ruby aren't related in this story. I just didn't want to throw that curveball in there.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made you wait 8 chapters for it, but we have finally arrived at smut. And yes, there will definitely be more.

The beach Regina directed her to was little more than a patch of sand surrounded by large rocks, but it had a view of a harbor with fishing boats bobbing in the waves, and the slight chill in the air was worth it to see the sun sparkling on the water and the birds diving and wheeling in the breeze. Emma took a deep breath of sea air. She loved this smell. It was one of the things she enjoyed about Boston. Occasionally when the wind was right the whole city smelled like ocean. 

They didn’t talk much in the 10 minute drive over. Just a couple of quick sentences in which Emma mentioned Granny’s B&B and Regina laughed at her description of the floral wallpaper. Regina had apparently gone to high school with Granny’s niece (Emma knew the woman hadn’t looked particularly old, despite the moniker), and Granny had apparently caught Regina making out with a boy when she was 15 and pretty much never gotten over it. Emma tried to imagine what teenage Regina was like, but when she asked, Regina said “very different from how I am now” and then stopped talking altogether. Emma left it. She’d started to figure out that Regina was unbelievably candid about some things, but her past and her personal life were not on the list. Emma glanced at her, watching the town go by outside the window, and took a chance by reaching over to take Regina’s hand. This earned her a sweet smile and a squeeze of her hand back. 

Regina took her hand again once they got out onto the beach. Emma tried to calm her racing heart as they meandered out towards the water. Walking hand in hand with this woman felt so right, and that was too much too soon. Maybe. Maybe it was exactly right and she was just scared of it. Or scared of losing it. Like she’d lost just about everything in her life at one time or another.

“There’s a cave over there,” Regina’s voice pulled Emma from her spiraling thoughts, and she turned her gaze to one side of the beach where the rocks rose into a cliff. There was a dark opening that Emma could believe was the mouth of a cave.

“I used to come hide here when I was a teenager,” Regina was saying. Emma waited to see if she would expand on this thought, and this time she did. “My mother was incredibly strict. And demanding. And I hated it. I was angry all the time, and I tried to get out of the house as much as I could.”

“I get that,” Emma mumbled.

Regina turned to her. “I don’t know anything about how you grew up,” she said. Emma cringed. She really didn’t like to talk about her past. It made people act differently towards her, and besides, this conversation was supposed to be about Regina, not her. But as soon as she’d thought that she heard Ruby in her head telling her that she shouldn’t be ashamed of how she grew up, because it was part of her, and that sharing was required for intimacy. Emma took a deep breath.

“I’m an orphan,” she said. “Grew up in the foster care system. Hated every second of it. Ran away as soon as I could and just kind of bounced around until I got to Boston. I found a job that made sense for me, I met my best friend Ruby, and figured out how to be a functional member of society.”

Regina smiled at her, and something in Emma unwound when she saw the smile held no pity, or horror, or any of the other reactions people usually had to her story.

“Maybe that’s why I like you, Emma Swan,” Regina said with a grin. “We’re both runaways.”

Emma looked at her quizzically.

“I ran away constantly,” Regina explained. “Time after time my mother paid someone to come bring me back, until I turned 18 and could legally refuse.”

“Where did you go?” Emma asked.

“Mostly just the next town over. But every now and then I got farther.” Regina’s face darkened. “I made it to Portland at some point, and that’s where I met Daniel.”

Regina paused, and Emma squeezed her hand. She had a sense that this was where things started to get explained. Regina stopped walking, looking out at the water, as she went on.

“Daniel and I dated for a couple of years. Once I was 18 I tried to go live with him. My mother pitched a fit and tracked me down. When I refused to come home, she hired someone to intimidate him instead. And I guess it worked. Because one day he…” she took a steadying breath. “He got into a car accident. And the witness report said it looked like he was driven off the road. They never caught the other driver. But I know it was my mother’s man. He didn’t survive.”

Emma gasped. “She had him killed?”

“I don’t think she actually intended that. But that is what happened, yes.”

“Oh, Regina,” Emma breathed. She turned to take Regina into her arms. The other woman came willingly, and though her eyes were dry, Emma could feel her sadness in the way her limbs draped on her, holding none of their usual life and vigor. After a moment, Regina pulled away, leaned up, and kissed Emma briefly.

“That was a long time ago,” she whispered. “But it’s why I won’t let my mother near my life, and especially not someone I’m dating.”

Despite it all, Emma could feel her cheeks going pink at the implication that they were dating. Regina definitely saw it, because she smiled and brushed Emma’s jawline. She trailed her fingers down until she could twine their hands together again, and pulled Emma towards a large rock near the water. They arranged themselves on it, leaning together as much as they could.

“Anyway,” Regina said eventually, “I came up here yesterday to confront my mother and try to put an end to whatever it is she had planned. And as usual, the second I walked into the house she had power over me again, and suddenly I found myself unable to leave.” Her voice was bitter, and Emma could hear the depth of feeling in it.

But then Regina turned to her, and her gaze and her tone were entirely different as she said, “And then you showed up. And reminded me who I am now. What matters to me now. I’m not sure I could ever thank you enough for that.”

Emma didn’t know what to say. This was a lot to take in. Regina’s history, the fact that she seemed to already think of them as an item - Emma could feel herself starting to pull away in fear. But she desperately didn’t want to. She wanted to lean in. But God, it was scary. She wanted to push through the fear and be present to this connection that was growing between them. So without thinking twice, she leaned forward and kissed Regina softly.

“I want to know who you are now,” she whispered. “I want to know everything about you.”

It felt vulnerable, and real, even though it could have come out like a cheesy pick-up line. But judging by the way Regina’s eyes softened and the ends of her mouth curved up into a gentle smile, she took it in the sincere way Emma meant it.

“Likewise,” Regina said back. “Tell me who you are. Tell me how you got to be the person who would drop everything to make sure the woman she’d been on two dates with was OK.”

Emma looked down, suddenly embarrassed. “I definitely act before I think,” she said.

Regina chuckled. “Clearly.”

“And I know how it feels to be alone and wish someone would come after me,” Emma added, pushing with all her might against her instincts that were telling her not to say things like that. Not to let her hand be taken and gently kissed. Not to keep talking. Because under all the fear that was threatening to overwhelm her she _wanted_ to keep talking. To hold onto this incredible moment of intimacy, and make it better. So she did. She kept talking.

“I had a baby when I was 17. I gave him up for adoption because I was in juvie for stealing. And when I got out I swore I would never go back. But I almost did a couple of times, until I got to Boston. And then I met Ruby and I started to see what it meant to have a family, and everything changed.”

“Emma,” Regina breathed, echoing Emma’s tone from earlier. She brushed a stray piece of hair out of Emma’s face, and the tender gesture made Emma’s eyes well up. Nope. No. She was not going to cry. Not here. Not now. Telling her story was one thing. Showing her stupidly emotional heart was quite another. 

Thankfully, Regina seemed to sense that they’d gone far enough for the moment. “Thank you for trusting me with that,” she said quietly. “And now you’re here and so am I. And both of us are different than we were.”

Regina paused, and when she looked up her eyes were bright and playful again. “And right now, Emma Swan, I would very much like to take you back to that horrendously decorated hotel room of yours and have sex with you on a hideously floral bed. What do you say?”

Emma grinned. They were back in familiar territory now, with Regina catching her completely off guard with her bluntness. She felt the blush creeping up, as usual, but she didn’t really mind. Whatever this was between them, they seemed to be on the same page, and Emma was ready to see what happened.

***

Thankfully Granny wasn’t in when the two women got back and they were able to creep upstairs unnoticed. Emma had barely shut the door when Regina was pressing herself into her, searching out her mouth. Emma groaned and threaded her hands into Regina’s hair, pulling it out of its loose bun. Emma loved the feeling of soft hair tickling her palms. She pulled her lips away from Regina’s to trail kisses down her neck, and took the opportunity to nuzzle her nose into the dark hair. She might have felt embarrassed about this if Regina hadn’t sighed and turned her head so Emma got access to more skin and more hair, and she tried to just let herself enjoy the moment. 

Regina had her arms around Emma’s waist, and she began to gradually work her fingers up under her shirt. It was glorious. Emma’s skin tingled with the gentle but insistent caresses. Eventually she found herself back up with her lips against Regina’s, both of them starting to breathe a little faster as Emma’s fingers mirrored Regina’s in finding their way under her shirt. Everything about Regina was soft, even though Emma could feel her muscles under her skin. But her skin itself was soft, and the fleshy layer on her stomach just begged to be touched. 

Emma stepped back to mumble “can I take your shirt off?” Regina didn’t bother answering, just yanked the fabric up and over her head. Emma did the same, and then reached behind and pulled her bra off, too. They’d already said they wanted to have sex and frankly she could barely contain her desire to feel her naked body on Regina’s. Regina chuckled something about her being eager, but quickly followed suit, and then they were kissing again with their breasts pressing and sliding together, and Emma was moaning louder than she really meant to, but goddamn this felt good. Regina was breathy, too, so Emma didn’t worry too much about it. In fact she was rapidly letting go of everything except the feel of Regina’s tongue hot against her own, and the way their bodies melded together, even only half naked and standing up. 

“Emma,” Regina was sighing. “You feel so good. I want to feel all of you.”

Emma gulped, and, finding her voice to be unreliable after a statement like that, just nodded enthusiastically. Regina chuckled a little at her reaction, and then trailed her fingers down Emma’s torso to undo her jeans. Emma reached down to help after her brain got over the unbelievably erotic sight of Regina’s fingers unzipping her pants and sliding around to start pulling them down. Emma wiggled out of the tight fabric while Regina did the same. When they were both standing there in nothing but panties, the mood shifted, and they grabbed at one another as their kisses turned almost desperate. Regina was the one to moan this time as Emma grabbed her ass through the thin cotton covering it. When Regina did the same, Emma stumbled as her body reacted, and they broke apart to laugh and then move to the bed. They had another good laugh at the absolute hideousness of the bedspread before pulling it down and off. Regina wiggled out of her panties as she perched on the side of the bed, looking at Emma with palpable desire. Emma groaned and got out of her own before rushing back into Regina’s waiting arms.

Emma ended up on top of Regina, which was where she liked to start things generally. She felt better being slightly more in control. Regina eagerly parted her legs and began to cant her hips up while their kisses got sloppier and deeper. Emma ran one hand up and down Regina’s torso, circling closer and closer to her breasts, until she finally brushed her fingertips over the already pert nipple. Regina gasped into Emma’s mouth. Emma smiled and shifted down to begin trailing her tongue over Regina’s chest. 

“Emma,” Regina whined above her. 

Emma’s smile widened. She had no intention of teasing the woman, but hearing her voice filled with desire like that was intoxicating. She relented, though, and attached her mouth to Regina’s nipple, sucking gently and swirling her tongue. The way Regina writhed under her told her she should definitely keep doing what she was doing. She did, switching sides a couple of times until Regina began to whine above her again. Emma grinned, but quickly moved her mouth down until she could see exactly how eager Regina was to be touched.

“Fuck,” Emma whispered, squeezing Regina’s thighs a little. Regina grabbed at Emma’s hair, as if to hold her in place. Emma took the hint. She licked and nipped her way in from thigh to cunt, and then around in tighter and tighter circles until she found the place that made Regina jump and gasp. Smiling a little, Emma took the circuit again before going to work on the spots she found where Regina’s body reacted. 

It was heaven. Emma’s face was smeared, her mouth and hands full of this woman who she thought about all the time. Regina was pulling on her hair, and it was turning Emma on even more. She moaned a couple of times, hoping the vibrations would only help Regina’s arousal get higher. At some point she teased at the woman’s opening, and when Regina groaned out “yes” above her, Emma wasted no time in pushing two fingers slowly into her. Never mind how it felt before; this was everything she’d ever wanted. To be inside Regina, feeling her clench around her fingers, with the taste of her and the smell of her - yes. Yes yes yes. 

Emma changed up her strokes a few times until Regina started to really pant, and then her thighs started to clamp together, and then she was coming with a low moan and subsequent shakes and flails that made it impossible for Emma to keep her hands or mouth where they were. She just let Regina rub herself anywhere she could reach, and watched in awe. Sure, it had been a while since she had sex, but she couldn’t remember anyone being this riveting during an orgasm. As Regina breathed hard and tried to recover, Emma just leaned her chin on one hand and let the other trace slow circles over Regina’s belly. 

“Wow,” Regina managed eventually.

Emma giggled. “Uh, yeah. That was amazing.”

“Fuck, you’re really good at that.”

Emma hid her face as that ever-present blush crept up it. But Regina pulled her up and into a long, slow kiss that very quickly turned heated again. Emma was still on top of Regina, and before she could suggest switching places, Regina had shifted down the bed just enough to grab one of Emma’s nipples in her mouth. Emma faltered and sank towards her. Regina’s mouth felt amazing - warm and wet and insistent. But when Regina began to suck harder, Emma’s entire body began to tingle. 

“Yes,” she breathed. Regina sucked even harder, taking more of her breast into her mouth.

“Yes,” Emma moaned. Regina grabbed her other nipple and pinched hard. Emma jumped and yelped.

“God. Do it again. Please.” Regina did it again.

In no time at all, and with no prompting from Emma other than her reactions, Regina had found what Emma’s other lovers had consistently gotten wrong - the exact level of intensity her body craved. She liked things hard and sharp, but not quite painful. Maybe a sting for a second, a bright twinge that evaporated into pure _feeling_. In the back of her mind alarm bells were ringing at the same time as unvoiced thoughts about rightness and fit were starting to form. Emma ignored all of it and gave herself to the sensations of Regina’s mouth and fingers, and her sweaty body below her.

Regina had one hand still toying with Emma’s now aching nipple, and she moved her mouth back up for a searing kiss. Emma registered that Regina’s other hand was raking up and down her hips, and then moving lower, but she was distracted by, well, everything else that was happening, so when Regina swiped a finger through her cunt, it was unexpected, and unbelievably good. Emma pulled her mouth off the other woman’s and moaned, dropping her head forward and widening her knees a little to give Regina more access. With one hand, Regina explored her inner folds, while the other one kept scratching up and down her back and side. Emma was ready to come in no time, and she did, shaking and cursing as her orgasm rippled through her. Regina, though, didn’t even bother stopping. And even though Emma’s legs felt like jelly, she willed herself to stay right where she was. It didn’t take long. A few well placed thrusts inside of her, with a little more friction right where she wanted it, and she was coming again. This one took her out, and she collapsed down, breathing heavily and enjoying the moments of sweet oblivion.

She eventually realized that she had ended up with her head on Regina’s chest, and that Regina was stroking her hair tenderly. That same push/pull of reveling in this closeness and being scared out of her mind at how fast it had come roiled up inside her, and she held her breath for a moment until it subsided.

“Well, Emma Swan,” Regina said, “I believe that’s the best sex I’ve had in years.”

Emma chuckled. “Honestly? Me too.”

Regina hummed and kept running her hands through Emma’s hair. Emma wanted to say something, anything, but she couldn’t think of how to begin. How do you tell somebody you could see yourself falling for them but it was too early but maybe they’d already skipped past getting to know you and into being together but maybe that was too fast and there was still so much you didn’t know about each other and you’ve never ever felt the way you do right now? So instead of saying anything, she turned her head and placed a kiss on this gorgeous woman’s sternum, and then on her neck, and then her cheek, and finally the tip of her nose, which made Regina laugh. She brought a hand up to gently caress Regina’s face. The laughter faded, replaced by something much more tender. Regina mirrored the gesture, and then they kissed, both of them keeping their eyes open for as long as they could. And in that kiss, Emma felt Regina’s openness, and her willingness to let Emma see everything about her, despite being from all appearances a very private person.

Emma laid her forehead on Regina’s. “This feels right,” she whispered softly.

Regina hummed. “It does,” she agreed. “I know it’s early, but I just feel …”

“Safe,” Emma said.

“Safe,” Regina echoed. “Which is funny,” she went on, her tone light again, as if to save them from going too much deeper, “because on our first date you tried to investigate me.”

Emma caught her teasing tone. “You asked me to!”

“I didn’t think you’d actually do it.”

“I’ll always take the dare. Act before I think, remember?”

They didn’t bother getting out of bed, and pretty soon had found themselves in round two. Emma ignored everything about the rest of the world as much as she possibly could. The mountain of questions that had piled up throughout the day could wait.


	9. Chapter 9

Emma was driving back to Boston, while Regina was driving her own car somewhere just ahead. The further she got from the tiny seaside town, the more her anxieties swirled and her thoughts raced. The past 24 hours had been so intense on so many levels, she didn’t have the first idea about how to process it. Regina apparently had a mother so intent on getting her way that she would send a hitman to drive Regina’s boyfriend off the road. Honestly, that alone should have been enough to scare Emma off. But the way Regina kissed her, and the fire between them when they finally pressed their naked bodies together, and that oh so tender way they talked about their past together? Emma knew she didn’t want to walk away from that. But also did, because every time she got close to somebody, she ended up getting hurt, and she was closer to Regina already than she’d been to anyone else she’d dated. 

She tried to get her breathing under control, but she just couldn’t, so she pulled off at the next exit, found a gas station to park in, and found her phone.

“She lives!” Ruby yelled instead of anything normal like ‘hello.’

Emma tried to say something, but the panic was rising, and all she could manage was a little sob.

“Oh, hey, Em, what’s going on?”

“It’s too much,” Emma whispered. She was sweating, and could feel herself starting to hyperventilate. Panic attacks were all too common for her, but every single time it felt like it was going to take her over and she’d never be able to breathe again. 

“Emma.” Ruby said firmly. “You’re going to breathe with me, OK?”

Emma nodded, realized she was on the phone, and husked out “OK.”

Ruby counted their breathing over and over again, until Emma felt the panic loosen. She got out of the car and shook her legs out, still counting her breaths with Ruby.

“Check in?” Ruby said. They’d done this before.

“I’m better,” Emma answered, and meant it. “I’m at a gas station. I’m going to find a bathroom and get some food and I’ll call you back.”

She did just that, careful to focus on the tiny details around her so as not to let her brain start spiraling again. When she was back in her little yellow bug with some peanuts and a chocolate milk, she called Ruby again. 

“Hey you,” Ruby answered. “You want to talk about it, or you want to be distracted?”

“Distracted,” Emma said immediately. “I still have another hour of driving.”

“Great. Well, I have just the thing…” and Ruby launched into 15 minutes of gossiping about people they both knew, and when that ran out, she moved on to people Emma had never met. It was exactly what she needed.

“Rubes, I should get going.”

“Yep! Call me if you need me. And come straight to my place if you want - I’m home from work and have nothing but time.”

“You’re literally the best, you know that, right?”

“I do! Love you, Em. Drive safe.”

Emma turned on the radio to get herself home. She stopped by her apartment to change her clothes and wash her face, and then headed out to Ruby’s. When she picked up her phone, she had a text from Regina.

<Home safe and thinking about you.>

Emma smiled, and then her stomach sank as the swirl of anxiety rose back up. But she fought it off long enough to let Regina know she was home safe, too. And then she ran to Ruby’s house, because at least if her body was in motion, her brain couldn’t take over.

Ruby pulled Emma into a hug the second she walked in. Emma was standoff-ish about touching sometimes, but today she leaned right into it. Then Ruby sat her down on the couch with a plate of nachos on the coffee table, handed her a glass of water, and put her hand out for Emma’s phone. It was a ritual they did when one or both of them needed a good reset. They turned off their phones and put them in the other room, and didn’t go get them until they were both ready. Emma happily handed hers over, not wanting to see if Regina had replied to her again. When the phones were secured, Ruby looked at Emma intensely.

“Are you up for telling me about it?” she asked.

Emma nodded, and launched into the whole story. When she got to the “then we went to my room and had sex for hours” part, Ruby got a glint in her eyes, but thankfully didn’t press her for details. Emma knew she would later, but appreciated Ruby letting her off the hook at this point.

“So …” Emma said, looking down at her water glass, “then I had a panic attack in the car on the way home because I started thinking about all of it and it’s just, like, so so much.”

“Jesus, Em, that’s a lot to take in.”

“Yeah.”

Ruby shifted closer to her, took the water glass out of her hands, and took Emma’s hands in her own.

“Look. I think it’s perfectly reasonable for you to have freaked out after all of that. But I also know you, and you kind of try to run away when you start getting close to somebody. So is that part of it? Because you dropped everything to make sure this woman was alright, and I feel like that tells me a lot about how much you care about her.”

Emma heaved a sigh and nodded. “How come you’re always right?”

Ruby laughed. “I’m only right about you,” she said. “I get my own life wrong all the damn time.”

She squeezed Emma’s hands. “I want you to have this if you want it, Em. Do you want it?”

Emma pictured Regina as she’d first seen her in pole class, and with her head on Emma’s shoulder standing on the beach, and with her hair splayed out on the pillow as they held each other. 

“Yeah,” she said quietly. “I really do.”

“Good,” said Ruby. “So let’s talk it out. What has you worried about letting yourself get closer to her?”

“Apart from the homicidal mother?”

“Apart from the homicidal mother, who I bet you could take any day.”

Emma drew in a breath. “I’m afraid of getting hurt,” she whispered. “If I care a lot, it hurts when they leave.”

Ruby squeezed her hands again and looked at her thoughtfully. “You know where that comes from, though, right?”

“Foster care,” answered Emma. Ruby was one of the few people she’d actually told details about her childhood, and she knew how many times she bounced around to homes that didn’t pan out, and also how hard it was on her.

“You also know that if you push people away, they have a tendency to leave,” Ruby said.

Emma froze. They’d danced around this before, but hearing her best friend say it so frankly was … hard. But she was also right. The only person she hadn’t pushed away was Ruby. And she was still here. The rest of them left because Emma started to get distant. Which she knew was to protect herself, but still, it was so scary to not protect herself.

“Hey,” Ruby said, “It’s not just you. I do it, too. I’m just telling you that if you usually push people away, then you can choose not to. And she still might leave, and it still might hurt. But she also might not. And the only way to know is to try.”

“What if I fuck it up?”

“You’ll probably both fuck up sometimes. That’s part of it.”

“I guess.”

“I know. We’ve had fights. And we’re OK.”

“Yeah, but you’re special.”

Ruby laughed at that one. “So are you, Em. And it sounds like Regina is, too.”

Emma took a breath. She knew Ruby was right. She also knew that she was going to have to talk herself into this every day. But maybe it was worth it. She felt her heart make up its mind, and she looked up at Ruby with a small smile.

“The sex was incredible,” she said.

Ruby squealed, and the mood shifted. Ruby pressed her for details, which she provided sparingly, and by the end of the night everything felt better.

When she turned on her phone on the way home, she had missed a call from Regina. It was probably too late to call back, but she texted her a quick apology for missing her, and hesitated for a just a moment before adding, <I’d really like to see you tomorrow. Could you do lunch?>

Regina texted back immediately, and Emma positively floated back to her apartment. Maybe it was all going to be OK.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies once again for being so erratic in my writing. But also... that's just my process.  
> Also, next chapter we will finally get back to some pole dancing!


End file.
